Rating: 
Summary: Arbuckle Keaton and St. John
Review: The two Arbuckle and Keaton DVDs are both essential viewing for silent film fans. I had heard of Roscoe Arbuckle before I watched these films, but had never seen any of his work. It was a delight then to discover how good a comic he was. Arbuckle is an energetic comedian throwing himself about with abandon. He is a sensation when dressed as a woman and surprisingly convincing. Many of the gags he performs are inspired, like when he decides to put out a raging fire by casually and slowly throwing one cup of water on it then equally casually going to fill up the cup again. Arbuckle's gags have been developed and imitated by loads of subsequent comedians and it becomes clear when watching these films that he has been a major influence on film comedy. Sometimes it is just the little bits of comic business that Arbuckle performs which stand out. His one handed cigarette rolling trick is justifiably a legend. These films are Arbuckle films. He is the star and the director. However that doesn't mean that he is always the focus of attention. He is very generous with the amount of time he gives to his co-stars. The most famous of his co-stars is, of course, Buster Keaton. Keaton was always grateful to Arbuckle for the start he was given in movies and Arbuckle deserves a lot of credit for seeing the potential in the young Buster. Keaton as supporting player is somewhat different from Keaton as star. For one thing he often smiles and laughs. Keaton fans will not be disappointed by his appearances in these early films. He is already a major talent and if anything more athletic than his later self. Watching Buster constantly fall over in all kinds of ways is to marvel at how he could remain healthy. Arbuckle's other co-star is Al St. John. St. John plays the villain in most of these films. He pulls a variety of faces and succeeds in looking creepy and sly while remaining very funny. It is as much fun watching Al as it is Roscoe and Buster and that is saying something. The prints of these films are not perfect. All of them show some damage whether it be scratches or small pieces of film missing due to edits and splices. When compared with some other films from this period, e.g. Chaplin's Mutuals, it must be said, that these Arbuckle films at times look pretty bad. This is not the fault of Kino; it's just the fact that for whatever reason these films have through the years become damaged. That said, these films are all perfectly watchable. The action can be seen clearly and the images are for the most part sharp and detailed. These are very rare films and I'm just glad to be able to see them at all. All of these two reelers are accompanied by music from The Alloy Orchestra. This is a modern style of music and includes sound effects some of which work well, others which work less well. I would have preferred a more traditional style of music fitting in with the period of the films, but after listening to the music a few times I have come to appreciate it and find myself liking it more and more. But nothing should put anyone off seeing these films whether it be the music the prints or even the opinion of a reviewer.
Rating:
Summary: Their Whole Lives Are Ahead Of Them - Volume 1
Review: These shorts, made between 1917 and 1919, reveal optimism on the faces of Buster and Fatty before the future troubles of scandal, alcoholism, and domestic problems altered their brilliant careers. Lucky for us, Kino has released these 80+ year-old films on DVD, which enhances the clarity over what has previously been released on VHS. In addition, we get to hear an excellent soundtrack that accompanies the 2-reelers. Previously released versions of these films were accompanied by borrowed circus music that sounded like it was recorded in the 1950s. The Alloy Orchestra does a great job with music and sound effects that are in sync with the frolicking activity in the scenes. THE BELL BOY (1918): Fatty and Buster are the bellhops and Al St. John is the bullying desk clerk at a hotel the three are operating. This 2-reeler contains anti-German WW1 references, such as refusing to serve German food and smushing a barber chair customer with shaving cream after Fatty has dressed him up as Kaiser Wilhelm. "The Bell Boy" also contains an appearance by Buster's father Joe, and the 2 do a variation of the act they staged in vaudeville. Buster later borrowed a lot from this film to enhance his 1937 short "Love Nest on Wheels". THE BUTCHER BOY (1917): The plot to this 2-reeler involves Fatty and Al St. John as general store employees who rival for the hand of the store owner's daughter. This being Buster's very first film appearance, Fatty cast him as an accessory in the role of an anonymous customer in the store. In the 2nd reel, Buster has (unexplainably) become a pal to Al St. John, by helping Al sabotage Fatty's efforts to woo the gal at the boarding school she is attending. OUT WEST (1918): Fatty plays a hobo who stumbles into a saloon and is hired by Buster to fill the vacancy of bartender, after Al, as the villain, has murdered the previous one. Some eye-popping politically incorrect humor is milked in this 2-reeler, but I won't get into that. MOONSHINE (1918): Al St. John plays a scary-looking hillbilly who attacks much-hated revenue agents Buster and Fatty after they invade his 'still'-infested territory. Some really nice gags pop out of this 2-reeler, my favorite being Buster and Al behaving like monkeys in a tree. Buster must have had a photographic memory of the chimp acts he observed in the wings of the vaudeville stage because his expertise in mimicking them shows itself again perfectly in his future 2-reeler "The Playhouse" (1921). Unlike the other 4 films on this DVD, the quality of this print of "Moonshine" is unclear and murky. I suppose it is the only available copy Kino could find. THE HAYSEED (1919): Buster and Fatty are employees at a general store, unintentionally revealed as being on a street in Culver City, a provincial village outside of L.A. at that time (a sign on the exterior of the store reads "Don't Go To The City To Be Cheated - Buy Here"). Also cast as the villain is John Coogan, who performs some specialized dancing that our guys poke fun at. It's this specialized dancing that John taught to his little son Jackie that eventually caught the eye of Charlie Chaplin, who put the talented boy under contract and sent him on to mega-stardom in the 1920s. "The Hayseed" is not considered one of their classics, but it contains my all-time favorite Buster and Fatty gag. In this dry, ahead-of-its-time scene, Buster feeds Fatty a batch of salted onions to regain the strength of his singing voice. After giving a tear-jerking performance, Fatty is wrongfully accused of stealing $300. No one will believe his pleas of innocence because they cannot stand the reeking stench emitting from his mouth, and so then turn their backs to him in revulsion. The accompanying sound effects made by the Alloy Orchestra make it even more of a howl.
Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: To give some additional historical perspective on these films and their current condition, lets first examine the history of Fatty Arbuckle. In 1921, Arbuckle was charged with the rape and murder of Virgina Rappe. These charges were false, but they ruined his career. His films were banned, and it appears that most copies were destroyed. That makes these dvds even more amazing, as the survival of these prints, as poor as some of the are, is almost by pure chance, and a slim chance at that. These five films are very funny.
There are moments in "The Bell Boy" that defy description.
"The Butcher Boy" is Keaton's first foray into film, which is perhaps all that makes this film essential, as the rest, while amusing, is not the funniest of this group.
"Out West", despite, some very aged racial material, is very irreverent, and very funny. Buster, as the peace-keeper of the saloon, keeps kicking the bodies of deaceased bad guys into a trap door in the saloon floor. This fiulm has perhaps the worst print of all five.
"Moonshine" is truly bizarre, surrealistic humor before surrealism was hip. I wonder what audiences thought of this one.
"The Hayseed" is pretty good, more country bumpkin humor. If you are a Keaton fan, you need to own this dvd. Now.
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